Undergarment



UNDERGARMENT Hazel B. Tucker, Lincoln, Nebr.

Application August 31, 1954, Serial No. 453,333

3 Claims. (Cl. 2-36) This invention relates to undergarments and more particularly to undergarments of the girdle type which provide abdominal control and support.

Many types of girdles have heretofore been proposed, but all such devices have failed to completely satisfy the requirements of control and more particularly selective control in combination with comfort to the wearer. A garment constructed entirely of fabric or elastic is frequently unsatisfactory in that the upper portions thereof tend to roll over producing discomfort to the wearer. Furthermore, all-fabric constructions lack the desired support and particularly selective support in predetermined body areas. To combat these detriments, boned undergarments have been proposed and utilized. However, boning, stays and other rigid insertions have frequently proven unsatisfactory in that they generally have sharp edges and ends which are disturbing to the wearer, and such garments may lack the desired degree of flexibility in all directions. Furthermore, with boning or other metallic inserts it becomes diflicult to provide the localized or selective control desired in garments of this type.

It is therefore one object of this invention to provide an improved undergarment of the girdle type having metallic inserts therein which will provide selective and localized support for certain abdominal areas and will not jab or otherwise annoy the wearer.

It is another object of this invention to provide a reinforced undergarment having metallic inserts therein which will not be permanently deformed as a result of extended use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved undergarment which will be comfortable to the wearer while producing the desired degree of selective and localized control.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide an undergarment having metallic inserts therein, said undergarments having flexibility comparable to the allfabric or all-elastic garments heretofore known.

It is another object of this invention to provide an undergarment construction in which a plurality of metallic inserts are incorporated therein in an improved manner.

Further and additional objects of this invention will become manifest from a consideration of this specification, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In one form of this invention an undergarment is provided having front, back and side panels of a relatively elastic material interconnected by yieldable sections to form asheathlike garment. Generally U-shaped metal inserts are incorporated in each of the front, back and side panels with the U portion of the inserts extending downwardly and the leg portions thereof extending above the waist of the wearer. Each of the metallic inserts is composed of a flattened spiral of metallic filaments being capable of substantial longitudinal elongation and also possessing a high degree of transverse flexibility. Each 'ice of these metal inserts is sewn into a fabric sheath which is in turn sewn into the appropriate portion of the under garment.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings herein.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates in perspective one embodiment of this invention as normally disposed on a figure;

Fig. 2 is'a front plan view of the embodiment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side plan view of the embodiment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a back plan view of the embodiment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the reinforcing structure of the embodiment of Fig. 1 taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 illustrates the metal reinforcing insert and sheath employed in the embodiment of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 illustrates the metal reinforcing insert of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 1, one embodiment 10 of this invention is shown disposed on a wearer. It will be seen from Fig. 1 that the garment includes a central or waist portion 12, a portion 14 extending above the waist of the wearer adapted to engage and support the epigastric portions of the abdomen of'the wearer, a lower portion 16 of the garment 10 extending below the waist portion 12 and adapted to support the hypogastric portion of the abdomen of the wearer, and a leg portion 18 extending from the lower portion 16 somewhat below the crotch of the wearer. A zipper 20 is provided on one side of the garment to facilitate the putting on and removal of the garment. The top edge of the garment 22 is normally disposed at approximately the level of the wearers diaphragm and thus provides support for the wearer in the particular regions in which such support is generally required. The regions generally requiring localized support are the hypogastric region 16 and the lumbar region 24 disposed generally on the sides of the central or waist area. By this invention the body portions requiring selective or localized support are especially treated.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the garment of this invention consists of a front panel 26 extending vertically over the entire length of the garment, side panels 28 and 30 also extending vertically over the entire length of the garment, and a back panel 32 extending from the bottom of the garment to a point below the central or waist portion 12. The portions of the garment disposed between the panels 26-.-32 comprise vertical elastic sections 34 which give the garment resiliency and provide a degree of selective support depending upon the shapes of the various panels. The upper back panel 34 is also of an elastic yieldable material. The conventional hose supporting elements 36 are provided along the lower edge of the garment.

Each of the panels 26-30 has incorporated therein an improved reinforcing means comprising a metallic insert 38 having a U-shaped configuration and enclosed within a fabric sheath 40. The construction of this assembly is clearly illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, a long filament 42 of resilient metal such as stainless steel is formed into an elongate spiral which is formed into a U-shaped configuration and then flattened. By forming the U-shaped configuration prior to flattening of the spiral, a reinforcing element is provided having little tendency to straighten or uncurl when sewn into the garment. Metallic caps 44 are secured to each end of the reinforcing element to enclose the free ends of the spiral and reduce any tendency to jab or tear the fabric. The reinforcing element 38 is sewn into the U-shaped fabric sheath 40 which is in turn sewn to the garment panel. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the steel filament is secured between two fabric panels 41 and 43 by stitch- 3 ing 45, and the sheath 40 thus formed is sewn to the panel 16.

From the drawing it will be clear that the U portion of the stay or reinforcingelement 46 which is disposed in the front panel is located near the hypogastric portion of the wearer as it has been found that this is one of the body por-tionsrequiring additional localized support. Furthermore, by having the U portion so located there is no tendency to cause discomfort due to poking or jabbing of the wearer during walking or bending. The reinforcing element will yield freely to the motionof the body of the wearer but will never retaina permanent set which might cause outwardly apparent discontinuities in the wearers outer garments.

I In a similar manner, the reinforcing elements 48 disposed in the side panels 28 and 30, extend downwardly a relatively short distance from the upper. edge 22 of the garment. Thereby, the U portion 50 thereof is concentrated, in or aboutthe lumber region which has been found also to require additional localized support. In

The reinforcing element 52 .which is secured in the,

elastic back panel 34 and'the back panel 32 is of a length equal to or somewhat longer than the length of the side panel reinforcements and provides support for the back portions of the wearer in much the same manner as that described above, while again eliminating any discomfort to the wearer by the disposition of the U portion 54 of the reinforcing element 52 at the lowermost extension of said element.

The stays or reinforcing elements may be of any desired gauge, though in the described embodiment the front and back stays are approximately one-half inch wide, while the side stays are of the order of one-fourth inch in width.

it is believed clear from the description above that this invention provides an improved. supporting undergarment which will provide. localized support in an improved manner While yielding greater comfort to. the wearer than garments heretofore proposed.

While the embodiment shown in the drawings has been described in detail, itwill be clear to one skilled in this art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. For example, the U-shaped reinforcing elements. extending sections adjacent said front panel having an enlarged waistline portion and reduced portions above and below said waistline portion, and substantially U-shaped spring means secured over substantially their entire length in said panels, said spring means having the bight portions 1 secured in said lower portion and the legs secured in and extending upwardly to the upper limit of said upper portion.

2. An undergarment comprising front, side, and back panels, intermediate elastic sections connecting said panels, at least said front panel having a reduced central waistline portion, an upper portion extending above said waistline portion, and a lower portion extending below said waistline portion, and at least the two elastic sections adjacent said front panel having an enlarged waistline portion and reduced portions above and below said waistline portion, and substantially U-shaped spring mean secured over substantially their entire length in said panels comprising substantially U-shaped spring means constructed of flat woven metal filamentary material, and a fabric, sheath enclosing said spring means and secured thereto over its entire length, said sheath being secured to; said panels, said spring means having the bight portions secured in said lower portion and the legs-secured in and extending upwardly to the upper limiter said upper portion.

3. An undergarment comprising front, side and back panels, intermediate elastic sections connecting said panels, and substantially U-shaped spring means secured over substantially their entire length in each of said panels, said panels having waist portions and lower portions extending from said waist portions, said spring means having-the bight portions secured in said lower portion and the legs secured to said panels and extending upwardly thereon from said bight portion to the upper limit of said panels, the spring means disposed in said front panel having leg portions substantially longer than the spring means secured in said side and back panels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

